RC balanced the diary on her knees. Her back was pressed against a damp stone
wall, her legs stretched out straight ahead of her. Her muscles ached from the brisk march Alyx
had led her on through the back alleys of town, and she wished she had
something more comfortable than a concrete basement floor.

The search for Alyx’s brother proved unsuccessful. They hadn’t seen evidence of anyone, and his
spirits were suffering. He kept up his
end of the conversation, but his words became quiet, subdued. Now he sat on an inverted metal bucket along
the adjacent wall. The way he hunched
over with his chin resting on his fist vaguely reminded RC of a statue that
she’d seen in a previous life. The long
silence, which she had filled with her thoughts as she transferred them to the
page, finally began to bother her.

“You okay?” RC asked tentatively.

“It must be nice to have someone to vent to,” Alyx
commented, his eye falling on Romero. “A
diary’s better than I’ve had since Ollie disappeared.”

RC remembered that she forgot to mention Ollie’s name in
Romero. She made a mental note to do
that next time. Rule #7: Though people may not remain close to you, it’s still a good
idea to remember everything about them you can.
Information is at least as valuable as a good meal.

“I make do with what I have,” she replied dismissively. She definitely didn’t want to be the topic of
conversation. Rule #8: The value of information means it can also be used against you. Don’t give away too much about yourself. “So, do you know where we are? I’ve never been in this area before.”

There was a reason for that, of course. This abandoned section of the city sat right
on the edge of the central habitation area.
Only a few blocks over, people went about their lives, living and
working. Those who weren’t in the meat
locker, anyway. If it weren’t for Alyx’s
determination to look after Ollie, he could live a normal life there. He’d never be around anyone his own age, but
he work in a nursery where the children who came from the meat lockers were
raised. Or anything else the overlords
didn’t want to do themselves, for that matter.

“I know this area fairly well,” Alyx replied cryptically. He ran his hand through his hair, which
looked like it might be blond after a strong stream of water knocked all the
caked dirt out of it.

“Any reason?” RC didn’t
have a reason to be suspicious of him, other than good old Rule #6. Yet, if she let her guard down and was
betrayed when she knew better than to let anyone get too close, she’d kick
herself all the way to the meat locker.
Then she’d be trapped. She couldn’t
stomach the idea of sacrificing her freedom for someone else’s benefit.

He shrugged. “I knew
people who used to live here. Since it’s
familiar, I figured Ollie might have come here.”

That made some sense, but it also made RC cringe as her
third rule came back to her. Avoid old
patterns to avoid predictability. Yet
the home field advantage couldn’t be dismissed entirely. Balancing these two contradictory ideas in
her head, RC quickly drew up another rule.
Rule #9: Operate in familiar
territory with caution. Becoming too
relaxed or lingering in an area for too long quickly negates any advantage
gained by familiarity.

Returning her attention to Alyx, whose shoulders slumped so
far forward it seemed a boulder must have fallen on them, she realized his
hunch was more than a passing thought. “You
really thought he would be here,” RC pressed.

“I’m worried about him.
The longer he’s gone, the more I think he might’ve been caught.”

This had been the unvoiced essence of her thoughts for most
of the day. “Even if he has, he’ll be
useful to them. They’ll only hurt him if
he resists.” Like Pete resisted, she added silently.

Alyx laughed wryly. “If
you’re so sure of their good nature, why are you running too?”

A fire sparked in RC’s chest. “Hey, I hate those pisswads as much as anyone
else ever could, but I was trying to make you feel better! That’s what a decent person does!”

He recoiled, analyzing her with startled green eyes. “Sorry,” he murmured. “I didn’t think I’d strike a nerve like that.”

“Well, you did,” RC spat, though her anger was already
ebbing. Something about Alyx’s expression
disarmed her fast, and a little alarm sounded in her gut. Be
careful about getting attached, she warned herself.

A silent moment passed between them, and RC avoided his
gaze.

Then the sound came. The
rhythmic sound reminded her of a heartbeat
pounding through the floorboards, but the reality was much worse. It was the sound of heavy footsteps.

“Ollie!” Alyx called as he leapt to his feet.

RC suddenly wanted to shake him. “Shhh!
How can you possibly know that?” she hissed.

Alyx looked sheepish.
“I know this neighborhood because we lived here. In this house. I figured if I was going to find him
anywhere, it would be here.”

Now she wanted to slap him.
“The security bots scanned you.
For all you know, there’s a patrol coming in here to ask you questions
about why you’re lurking in the restricted areas of the city.”

Alyx looked up, as if trying to see through the ceiling. The footsteps were traversing the floor
above, but it was still only one set. “Stay
down here. If it’s a patrol, I’ll make
sure they don’t find you.” Then he
bolted for the stairs.

Her stomach turned. If
she were smart, and if her rules meant anything, she would listen. That’s why, when she found herself jumping up
to pursue him and knocking Romero to the concrete in the process, she knew she
was the one who needed to be slapped.